Apparatus for reenforcing buttonholes



r W. DUESLER.

APPARATUS FOR REENFORCING BUTTONHOLES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 31, I92]- w N d m w B1 IN V EN TOR HJATTORNEYPatented Nov. 7, 1922.

UNETE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

"WALTER DUESLER, OF JOHNSTOWN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO DIANA KNITTINGCOMPANY, OF JOHNSTOWN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK,

APPARATUS FOR REENFORCING BUTTONHOLES.

Application filed December 31, 1921. Serial No. 526,231.

['0 (LE whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VALrnRDUEsLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Johnstown, in the county of Fulton and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus forReenfor-cing Buttonholes; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make. and use thesame.

My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described,reference being had to the accompanying drawing which shows oneembodiment of my invention, selected by me for purposes of illustration,and the said invention is fully disclosed in the following descriptionand claims.

The object of my present invention is to ro\'ide means for forming andreinforcing button holes in cloth, leather, or in any other suitablematerial in which the button hole may be stitched, and the apparatusherein described is especially adapted for carrying into effect myimproved process for forming and reenforcing button holes, set forth inUnited States Letters Patent No. 1,416,801, granted May 23rd, 1922.

' According to my said invention disclosed in my said application abovereferred to, I provide a reenforcing stay comprising a narrow strip ofcloth, tape, or other material, of one or more thicknesses andsubstantially double the width of the bights of the rows ofstitchessurroundingthe button hole, which is applied to one face of the basematerial in which the button hole is to be formed, the incision for thebutton hole being formed either before or after stitching, through thebase material and centrally and longitudinally of the reenforcing stay,the portions of the stay at opposite sides of the incision being unitedto the base fabric by a row of stitches entirely surrounding the buttonhole aperture, and enclosing the marginal portions of the base fabricand the portions of the stay on opposite sides of the incision, thestitching also preferably uniting integral portions of the stay atopposite ends of the incision to the base material, after which the endportions of the stay beyond the rows of stitches are cut off, leavingthe button hole thoroughly reinforced and the stay entirely enclosed andconcealed by the rows of stitchmg.

In carrying out my present invention I employ the essential elements ofthe well known button hole sewing machine comprising a button holeforming knife, blade or cutting mechanism, button hole stitch producingmeans and feed mechanism for formm the button hole, that is to say, theusual stitch forming and feeding mechanisms for producing button holes.These means may be of any usual or desired character, and as myinvention does not involve any specific change in the ordinary buttonhole stitch producing means, or feeding mechanism, the specificmechanism for producing the button hole stitches to form the button holewill not be herein illustrated or described in detail. In combinationwith the button hole stitch producing means, and feeding mechanism, andpreferably also in combination with the button hole serving knife, bladeor cutter, I employ means for guiding and positioning a flat narrowreenforcing stay, in the form of a tape or strip of one or morethicknesses, and substantially twice the width of the row of button holestitches on opposite sides of the button hole aperture, so as to guideand maintain the said reenforcing stay at all times in a positionlongitudinally and centrally of the button hole aperture to be formed,so that as the button hole is formed,

the portions of the stay on opposite sides of the center thereof, and onopposite sides of the button hole aperture, formed or to be formed, willbe entirely enclosed within the button hole stitches bordering thebutton hole aperture, the stay being preferably left integral at eachend of the button hole aperture, and the button hole aperture itself maybe formed by the operation of a knife or cutting mechanism,automatically operated by and being a part of the button hole machine,as is usually the case, and being brought into operation either beforeor after the stitching of the button hole, or the button hole aperturemay be made by other means if desired after the removal of the basematerial from the machine, if the button hole machine is not providedwith an automatically operated knife or cutter.

In the accompanying drawing, I have t-Jdied therein.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the work supportand feeding plates of themachine, showw my invention applied thereto.

F 3 is a front elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2.

ig. a is a sectional view on line a e of 5 is a similar view to Fig. 2showing a modification of the means for supporting and guiding the tapein front of the needle.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a detail view illustrating a piece of base fabric having abutton hole formed therein, in accordance with niiy invention, bet'oreclipping the reentorcing tape or strip.

Fig. 8 is a similar view after the clipping of the tape or strip, andillustrating the completed button hole.

Referring to the drawings, I have illustrated so mu h of the well knownSinger button hole machine as is necessary for an understanding of myinvention, the machine being illustrated herein with my inventionapplied thereto. 1 represents the base or main frame of the machine onwhich is set means for supporting and feeding the work, and sti chforming mechanism adapted to produce stitching, extending entirelyaround the button hole, with barring stitches at each end the buttonhole, all of which may be of the usual or any preferred construction. Inthe present instance the frame 1 is provided with a transversely movableclamp carrier slide, indicated at 2, mounted in suitable guideways inthe frame, and capable of a lateral sliding movement with respect to thebase 1. Upon the clamp carrier slide 2 and disposed centrally thereol isa longitudinally movable clamp carrier 3 supported in a dovetail recessin the upper face of the clamp carrier slide, so that the clamp carrieritself may be moved l0ngitudinally to an extent slightly greater thanthe length of the button hole to be formed. The clamp carrier 3 isprovided with a lon 'itudinal slot 4. in which is located the needleplate which may be, and in this instan'e is. shown-as secured to theclamp carrier slide 2 by screws 66, the slot 4 in the lamp carrier beingof considerably greater length than the needle plate, so as to 1 ssesspermit of the necessary longitudinal moveme" t of the ciamp tarrier. Theneedle plate provided with a transverse slot 1' for the needle of lengthat least twice the length or the button hole stitches, so as to permitoi the tormation of two parallel rows of such stitches on opposite sidesof t re button hole, and the needle plate is also preferably provided;with a longitudinal slot 8, extending from the central portion of theslot tor the purpose of permitting the passage therethrough ot' thebutton hole forming knife or cutter. The longitudinally movable carrieris provided with a work supporting plate 9 which lies above the clampcarrier slide 2 and is secured to the clamp carrier 3 by means of screws10 and the plate Sis provided with alarge slot indicated at throughwhich the work may be brought into contact with the needle plate. Theclamp carrier is also provided with a work clamp, indicated at 12, whichis pivotally supported at 13 and held down upon the work by means of asuitable spring 14:, the work clamp being provided with an operating arm15 by means of: which it may be raised and lowered. 16 represents theneedle head carrying the needle bar 17 and needle 18, and also carryingthe button hole forming knife or cutter 19, the needle 18 and knife 19being supported in operative relationiwith respect to the slots 7 and 8respectively in the needle plate 5. All of these parts are of the wellknown construction employed in the Singer button hole ma chine, andtheir specific construction and operation form no part of my presentinvention. It is to be understood that the machine is provided withbutton hole stitch forming mechanism and suitable mechanism foroperating the button hole forming knife or cutter. in this machine theneedle bar is provided with suitable means for imparting to it verticalreciprocating movements for the production of the button hole stitchesand suitable mechanism is provided for moving the clamp carrier 3 withits work clamp longitudinally with respect to the needle plate from oneend of the button hole to the other, and the clamp carrier slide is alsoprovided with mechanism for shifting it transversely of the machine toproduce a row oi button hole stitches, first on one side of the buttonhole and then on the other, in a well known way. As it is not neIesSaryfor the purpose of this invention to partitularly illustrate anddescribe these mechanism. for imparting movement to the work supportingdevices and to the needle bar and cutter, I have not particularlyillustrated' and will not describe the same in detail. In Fig. 2 I haveshown the clamp carrier slide provided with a shifting lever, indicatedat 20. forming part of the feed mechanism. in the Singer machine, andthe clamp carrier 3 is shown connected to a link 21. forming part of thelongitudinal fee ling mechanism therefor.

In carrying out my orosent invention, ll provide means for su porting,guiding, and maintaining a narrow strip or tape of substantially doublethe width of a single row of button hole stitches longitudinally of theneedle plate and centrally disposed with respect to the needle, thebutton hole sinite the slots in the needle plate cooperating therewith.To this end l'pi ferably provide, adjacent to the rear e 1 of the plate9 a tape holding and positioning guide, indicated at 22, whichcooperates with tape holding and positioning guide adjacent to theforward end of this plate, as hereinafter more fully explained. Asbefore stated, the rcenforcin tape which I employ may be used in asingle thicl; ess or in a plurality of thicknesses. Preferably, I.employ a tape, indicated at 23, which double the winth desired, andprovide means for folding it longitudinally and centrally upon itself. Iprefer, therefore, in making the holdiii w positioning- 'de to maize itin the of tape fol 1g guide. the rear portion irdicated at 24: being inthe form of. a flattened tube of the full width of the tape, which tubeis gradually folded upon itself 'tOi the forwaid end of ti e holding andpositioning; .q'uide so tl'zat the tape will be folded lo]i tudinallyand centrally upon itself. The inne face of the list ued tubular guideis prefera y slotted longitudinally, as indicated at 25 in t, todecrease friction in the tube and facilitate the folding ac ion of. theguide. This guide is provided with an attaching bracket, indicated at26, which is secured to the work supporting plate 9 3y means screws 27.The friction exerted by the folding guide on the tape enables .i

tto

hold one end of the tape very firmly, while permitting the tape to nodrawn forward by hand whenever desired, between the formation ofsuccessive button holes. shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4., tie forward endof the clamp carrier 3 is provided with a pc guiding and positioninnotch or recess 23 in line with and dispo: d centrally with respect tothe longitudinal axis of the needle plate 5, or in other words, in linewith the central portions of the slots 7 and 8 of the needle plate. Thetop plate or work supporting plate 9 is preferably provided with aninclined slot 29 e ncinp' laterally with respect to and connnunicatirwith the notch or recess 28, so {as to facilitate the insertion of thetape from above down through the inclined slot 29 and into the guidingand positioning recess E28, wi houtthe neces ity of threading the tapethrough said recess. The recess 28 is of such width as to the tapesnugly and hold the forward end fricticnally when it is forcibly pulleddown into the barring stitches.

In the form the recess, as it is shown in Fig. 1, thus holding theforward end of the tape while the rear end is firmly held frictionallyand positioned by the guide 22 before described.

In the operation of the machine, assuming that the tape is held andpositioned in the machine at the front and at the rear of the plate 9,and in line centrally with respect to the needle plate 5, the basematerial in which the button hole is to be formed, which may be a pieceof fabric or the edge of a garment, is placed in contact with the tapeand is clamped down by the work clamp 12 in the usual manner, thusholding it in contact with the tape, so that the tape will extendequally on opposite sides of a line coincident with the button holeaperture to be made. A row of button hole stitches is then made alongone side of the proposed button hole, which will extend substantiallyfrom the centre of the tape to one exterior edge thereof, so as toenclose a marginal portion of the base raterial and one half of the tapeor strip. ii second row of button hole stitches is made on the oppositeside of the proposed button hole in the same manner and preferablycertain barring stitches will be madeat each end of the button hole in awell known way, which also pass through the strip or stay. The incisionis then made in the stay and base material centrally of the two rows ofstitches, by depressing the knife or cutter 19, if the machine isprovided with such a cutting mechanism, thus forming a button holehaving its edges reinforced throughout by the concealed portions of thestay, the stay itself being left integral at each end of the button holeaperture, at which points it will be firmly united to the base materialat the op posite ends of thebutton hole aperture by The stay is thensevered adjacent to each end of the button hole aperture close to thebarring stitches, but without severing any of the same.

In Fig. 7 I have shown an underside view of the button hole formedaccording to my invention, in which 23 represents the tape, 30represents the base material or fabric, in which the button hole is tobe formed, 3'l31 represent two rows of button hole stitches, and 32represents the barring stitches, at the opposite ends of the rows 3l-31.Fig. 8 represents a completed button hole after the in cision is made,as indicated at 33, and the ends of the tape 23 have been cut of, allportions of the tape being entirely concealed by the stitching.

After the completion of one button hole, the tape is severed from themain body of tape passing through the guide 22 and the end of the mainbody is drawn forward a distance sufficient to provide the necessaryamount for the next button hole, the forward end being held in theguiding and positioning recess 28, when the operation is repeated.

lOG

it will understood that if the button hole sewing machine with which myinvention is employed is not provided with a cutting mechanism, thebutton hole may be formed in the manner indicated in 7, and the incision33 may be made afterwards, or before the stitching, may be preferred,and in any desired manner.

In 5 and 6 l have illustrated a slight modification, in which theforward end of th needle plate herein indicated at 5 is proi neans forholding and positionthe forward end of the r enforcing tape or sta inthe form of machine illustrate l in the figure, the needle plate isintegral with the clamp carrier slide 2; but this is not essential, asthe needle plate may be separately formed and secured to the clampcarrier slide if preferred.

in this modification, ll form in tne forward portion of the needleplate, and in the slide 2, beneath, a transversely disposed guiding andpositioning slot 3 1, the central gular shoulders, indicated at 36, areformed at the junction of the slot and recess which prevent the escapeof the tape from the slot when once inserted and assist in frictionallyholding the forward end of the tape. In order to facilitate the insrtionof the tape in the recess 35 and slot 3%, the work supporting plate 9 isprovided with an in clined slot 29, leading to a slot 37, extendingentirely through the front portion of the clamp carrier 3, so that theoperator may draw the forward end of the tape and pass it lown throughthe slots and 37, so as to pass it through the tapering slot 35, 35"enabling him to pull it quickly into posi ion in the transversepositioning and holding slot in the needle plate and clamp carrier slide2 where it will be frictionally held. and retained. The other end of thetape will be held as hereinbefore described with reference to the otherfigures, in the rear positioning and holdin guide 22, as indicated in inthe form of my inyention illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 the positioningslot 34rin, the needle plate serves to hold the for ward end of the tapeso as to align it with the needle plate while the work is being placedupon the tape and clamped by the work clamp 12. After the machine isstarted the clamp, clamp carrier and Work supbllllS porting platetogether with the material ano the portion of the stay or tape beneath.ie same move forward. The portion of the apo between the part beneaththe clamp carrier, and slot (which is now of no use as the material andtape are now held together by the work clamp), will become loose andbuckle, but will be drawn taut again when the clamp and carrier returnto their original position, so that the slight relaxation or buckling ofthis portion of the tape which is not beneath the work clamp and doesnot become a part of the button hole is unimportant and does notinterfere with the p operation of the machine.

be understood that my invention n iybe readily applied to any other typeof button hole machine, although slight modifications in the specificconstruction of the holding and positioning guide for the tape, forwardand in rear of, and centrally in a gnmentwith the button hole, may berequired to adapt the invention to the diilerent types of button holemachines. In each case the operation of the mechanism will be stantially identical with that herein desciioed in that a tape, andpreferably a tape folded lengthwise and centrally upon itself will beheld in front of and in rear of the button hole, and centrally withrespect thereto during the formation of the button hole so as to securethe reinforcement of the button hole by means of the lateral portions ofthe tape which are entirely concealed within the opposite rows of buttonhole stitches, integral portions of the tape at each end of the buttonhole being preferably united. to the base fabric either by continuingthe button hole stitches beyond the button hole aperture, or by means ofthe usual barring stitches.

have terine l the stitches on opposite sides of the button hole, whichare formed by the usual button hole stitching mechanism button holestitches, and I desire it to be understood that the invention is notlimited to any particular kind of machine for making; any particularkind of button hole stitches. The button hole stitches herein referredto are to be understood as including any kind of stitches for forming abutton hole and enclosing portions of the marginal edges of the basefabric and portions of the tape on opposite sides of the button holeaperture and may be what are referred to in the trade whip stitches,purl stitches. covering stitches or any other form of button holestitches.

l i hat l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1,. In asewing machine. the combination with means for producing button holestitches, comprising stitch forming and feeding mechanism, of means forsupporting a narrow tape of a width substantially double the length ofthe button hole stitches, in a position longitudinally of the buttonhole, and with the central portion of said tape in alignment with thebutton hole aperture to be formed.

2. In a button hole sewing machine, the combination with means forproducing button hole stitches on opposite sides of the button hole,comprising stitch forming and feeding mechanisms, or means for holdingand positioning a narrow tape of a width substantially double the lengthof the button hole stitches longitudinally and centrally with respect tothe button hole to be formed.

3. In a button hole sewing machine, the combination with means forproducing button hole stitches at opposite sides of the button hole, oftape guides located in rear of and forward of and in alignment centrallywith respect to the button hole to be formed.

4. In a button hole sewing machine, the combination with means forproducing button hole stitches at opposite sides of the button hole, oftape guides located in rear of and forward of and in alignment centrallywith respect to the button hole to be formed, and tape folding meansadjacent to one side 01" said guides.

5. lln a button hole sewing machine, the combination with means forproducing but ton hole stitches at opposite sides of the button hole, oftape guides located in rear of and forward of and in alignment centrallywith respect to the button hole to be formed, one of said guides beingprovided with means for receiving a tape of greater width than thatdesired, and having folding means for said tape, for "folding it as itis drawn through to the guides.

6. In a button hole sewing machine, the combination with means forproducing but ton hole stitches on opposite sides of the button hole,comprising stitch forming and feeding mechanisms, of a tape folding andpositioning guide adjacent to one end of the button hole to be formed,comprising a flattened tubular member bent upon itself longitudinallyfor receiving and folding a tape, and having its delivery end inalignment longitudinally with the button hole to be formed, and a tapeholding and positioning guide adjacent to the other end of the buttonhole to be formed, for receiving the folded tape from the firstmentioned guide.

7. In a button hole sewing machine, the combination with means forproducing button hole stitches on opposite sides of the button hole,comprising stitch forming and feeding mechanisms, of a tape folding andpositioning guide adjacent to one end of the button hole be formed,comprising a flattened tubular member bent upon itself longitudinallyfor receiving and folding a tape, and having its delivery end inalignment longitudinally with the button hole to be formed, and a tapeholding and positioning guide adjacent to the other end of the buttonhole to be formed, for receiving the folded tape from the firstmentioned guide, a work supporting plate extending over said secondmentioned guide and provided. with an inclined slot communicatingtherewith, to permit the ready insertion of the tape in the guide below.

8.- itn a button hole sewing machine, the combination with means forproducing a row of button hole stitches on opposite sides of the buttonhole to be formed and includ ing stitch forming and feeding mechanisms,and a needle plate, means for guiding and positioning a'tape locatedadjacent to the rear end of the needle plate and in line with thelongitudinal central portion of the same, said needle plate beingprovided at its forward end with a centrally located tape holding andpositioning aperture.

9. In a button hole sewing machine, the combination with means forproducing a row of button hole stitches on opposite sides of the buttonhole to be formed and including stitch forming and "feeding mechanisms,and a needle plate, means for guiding and positioning a tape located atthe rear end of the needle plate, and in line with the longitudinalcentral portion or" the same, said needle plate being provided at itsforward end with a transversely disposed tape holding and positioningslot and having an inwardly tapered notch communicatin with the centralportion of said slot an extending to the end of the needle plate.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature,

WALTER DUESLER.

